Untitled Until Further Notice
by Kytti the MiniKyo
Summary: Meryl, now a wanted outlaw, stumbles upon a family living in a small town. Vash, The loving uncle, and Knives and Rachel. And what if Meryl lies to them? Sucky summary, so just read it. VM pairing, Chaps 3-4 up! wOOt!
1. Chapter 1 Meryl

Untitled Until Further Notice By: Stungun Milly Chapter 1: Why? (Meryl) ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun, k? I hate long disclaimers, so lets just leave it at that. A/N: Wowies. You clicked into my story! *sparkly eyes* Thankies so much! Uh... this is a story that my cousins and my friends have been pestering me to put up... so here it is HAPPY NOW!? Ahem. Anyway, I liked the idea of this, and if it seems boring and hard to understand, then just wait cuz it'll get better, I promise! I really suck at first chapters *sweatdrop*. And about my O/C's, well Zach wanted me to warn you that they're a little OOC in this first chapter... O.o So anyway, R+R, and be constructive, cuz if you review and tell me that you 'hate it and it sucks' then I don't know how to improve it... So be specific, please. So anyway, the long awaited for first chapter of Untitled Until Further Notice (lol BTW, you can help me come up with an actual title if you'd like) ^^ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
I often wonder why. Why we exist, why Vash loved donuts so much, why Milly was always so happy. You know, just why. I really don't know why. Heh, I guess that's another why to add to my list of 'Whys'. Why do I wonder why? Okay. Now I think I'm going insane. It must be this heat. If I weren't such a modest woman, I'd be stripped down to bare flesh. But since I am, I guess I have no choice to bear it. After all, I am a strong girl. I mean, I chased Vash The Stampede around the desert for the longest time. But no, that Meryl's been long dead . She died the day that she realized that Vash wasn't coming back. She shut herself off from the rest of the world. She pushed everyone away, everyday just sitting, waiting in front of the window for the one she loved to come back to her. Of course none of her 'whys' could be answered, as they were only incoherent breaths on the wind.  
  
"Why, Vash? Why did you leave me?"  
  
Ah, but why dwell in the past anyway, right? I mean, it's not like it matters anyway. Destiny probably just had this planned out for me. I remember when I thought my 'destiny' was to be a boring, non-exciting insurance girl. And then I met Vash, and in the blink of an eye, my entire world was turned upside down, shaken, stirred, and tied into a knot. He taught me so much, and questioned everything I thought I knew. He was such a beautiful, wonderful person. I can honestly say that I would have given anything to be with that man. But it's too late now, I guess. I suppose I really couldn't have made him stay, but something tells me that if I'd told him how I felt, he might have been persuaded to return.  
  
But, even now, there's still a sliver of hope inside of me that one day, after all of this searching, all of this pain, I'll turn a corner and bump into him, and he'll smile at me and say: "Hey insurance girl, how have you been?" And I guess that's what keeps the memory of Meryl Stryfe alive. The wish, the hope of hearing his voice again, of looking into those big, innocent eyes.  
  
"There's something wrong with your left leg." The hell?  
  
"What?" I ask ignorantly. staring down at the young man cloaked in black. I can't see his face or anything, but something about him is insanely familiar.  
  
"Your left leg. there's something wrong with it. You favor the right when you walk. Please, come inside." He gestured warmly, standing up, the cloak still covering his face.  
  
I'm sure he's a bounty hunter or something, just waiting to jump up, grab me and take me in for the reward. Not like it was all that much money. I was only wanted for murder. Murder of, guess who? Gasp, Miss Meryl Stryfe of the Bernardelli Insurance society. Yep. I killed myself. Don't you just love the justice system? Ah. I guess I could have just gone and taken care of it, but for some reason, I didn't. I guess I must've liked the exciting life of an outlaw. Or maybe I was just afraid. Afraid to go back to my old life, back to being simple Meryl Stryfe. Maybe I was scared that it would remind me of him, and everything else I lost. But whatever the reason, I didn't. I decided to 'live in the shadows' for the rest of my life. Which probably won't be too much longer, if I keep spacing out like this. "Miss, please come inside."  
  
"Huh? Oh, thanks but no thanks. My leg's just fine." I turn to walk away, but he grabs onto my shoulder.  
  
"Please. Miss. Come. Inside." He says in a sort of final tone that I swear that I've heard somewhere before. He's ushering me into the shabby doorway, past the shabby couch and chairs, and sitting me down at the shabby kitchen table. Not that I'm a big material girl or anything, but this place is just kind of crappy.  
  
I'm eyeing him nervously, and waiting for him to pull a gun on me and yell how he's 'got me and gonna take me in for the reward, bwahahaha'.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not a bounty hunter." He smiles at me, and I try to pretend not to look completely terrified, failing miserably. Is he reading my mind? "Nope. I'm just really good at reading people's expressions. And then I think how this has to be Vash. It's a pretty stupid theory, but, hey, you never know, right? And then, in three simple words, my theory was shot, killed, and buried. "My sister Rachel says that I can see into people's souls... Y'know, to see if they're good or not. Any you are good Miss... Wait! I never introduced myself. My name's Knives. What's yours?" I look at him funny for a minute. Hey, wasn't that Vash's brother's name? Hm.  
  
"I'm Mer-" I replied absentmindedly, stopping myself before I finished.  
  
"Your name's Mer?" He looked at me funny.  
  
"Uh... yeah, um... no. My name's Merry." I said, mentally kicking myself for the ingenious name I managed to come up with. I hated that nickname. That's what my sisters always called me.  
"Like Merry Christmas?" He laughed a little, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you." He reached his hand out to shake mine, and the cloak fell off of his head, revealing unruly blonde hair, and dazzling blue eyes.  
  
"...Nice to meet you." I say, taking his hand, and smiling.  
  
"Hey! I almost forgot about your leg! Please let me look at it!" I frowned. I had lied before, my leg was messed up, but I doubted if he could fix it. It was a gunshot wound. I had been running from bounty hunters. They shot me twice. The first bullet had just grazed my side, the other plunging into my left leg. Finally I had lost them. They probably just figured that I'd crawl somewhere into the middle of the desert, shrivel up and die. After all, the bounty wasn't any good if I was dead. But I ran anyway, for what seemed like iles and iles until I was sure I'd lost them. I hadn't managed to get the bullet out of my leg, but I had stopped the bleeding and bandaged it up halfway decently. It was, to my surprise, heaving very nicely.  
  
I explained everything to him. He made me sit on the table, and he had hiked my pants leg up and was trying to figure out how to get the bandages off when the front screen door creaked open, and slammed shut.  
  
"Brother, we're home!" A shorter woman stepped into the kitchen, carrying a brown paper sack. Her long blonde hair fell into her eyes, and she almost dropped the bag when she saw me sitting on the table. She slid the strangely familiar yellow sunglasses up the bridge of her nose, and she produced the weirdest smile I'd ever seen in my life. "Awww, Knivesie's got a giiirlfriend! How kawaii is that!"  
  
"N-no! Rachel! It's nothing like that!" He blushed fiercely, standing and throwing his hands up defensively.  
  
...And then my thought pattern was permanently damaged.  
  
"Rachel, what did I tell you about slamming that damn screen door?!" My heart leapt out of my ribcage as the familiar voice enters the kitchen. It's (I was thinking about making it a cliffhanger, but since Erika kept telling me that everyone already knows who it's gonna be, and since I really hate cliffhangers anyway, I just decided to keep going ^^U) Vash!  
  
He looks the same as he did ten years ago, minus the red coat and yellow sunglasses. I don't think he recognizes me though, and quite honestly, I don't blame him. I look different. A lot different. My hair is almost to my elbows, and everything else about me probably looks really shabby.  
  
He stares at me for a moment, and walks over and wraps his arms around me. I'm speechless. My insides freeze, and all I can do is stand there. Also that may be because he's holding me so tight. It's actually kind of nice.  
  
"Uh... Uncle what in the hell are you doing?" Rachel says. Meanwhile, I'm still being smothered.  
  
He backs away. "I-i'm sorry, it's just that you remind me of someone I used to know." And automatically, I know he's talking about Rem. Maybe I look like her now that my hair is longer. He laughed nervously. "So, what's your name?"  
  
"Uh, I'm Merry." My cheeks are turning a lovely shade of red, and I try to hide it by pulling my hair into my face.  
  
He chokes a little. "Well, Merry, I don't know how long you'll be staying, but welcome to the family."  
  
"We get to keep her? Sugoi!" Rachel shrieks. "It'll be so cool to have another girl around, they get on my nerves all the time!" She laughs, and Knives smirks.  
  
"Another girl? I don't even see the first one!" Blam. He falls to the ground holding his head, and Rachel is holding a silver gun.  
  
"Rachel! What did I tell you about hurting people on purpose?"  
  
"Uncle Vash! He deserved it! You heard him!" He looked at her sternly, and she huffs out of the room. "I'm gonna go see Brian. Bye Uncle, bye Asshole." Her voice became sugary and friendly as she yelled; "Bye Merry-chan!" The screen door slammed.  
  
"She'll never stop doing that." Sighing, he stepped over Knives, who was still out cold in the middle of the floor, and over to the sink.  
  
He looked up and smiled at me. "So, what do you want for dinner?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Soooo, what didya think of the first chapter? Well, I hope you liked it! R+R! And well... yeah that's about it. Love, StungunMilly 


	2. Chapter 2 Knives jr, that is

Untitled Until Further Notice S-chan The Great (Formerly StungunMilly) Chapter 2  
  
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Wow. You guys reviewed. I feel so special. And I was even added to an author's favorite list. *gets starry eyed* I'M SOOO HAPPY! Uh... but anyway, This chapter is in Knives (Jr)'s POV. If ya like it, REVIEW! T'would make me so happy ^^ Disclaimer: And now for a poem. Trigun is not mine, Me no own-ie So please do not sue, You'll get no mo-ney ^^  
  
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You know how sometimes, you have a question and you know exactly what you wanna say, but you don't say anything because you're afraid you'll say the wrong thing and piss everyone off? Well, that's how I felt sitting at dinner with Merry and my uncle.  
  
I wanted to know why. Why he was staring at her with that look in his eyes. That 'I'm about to jump off of a building because I'm so sad' look that I've never seen before. No, scratch that. I have seen that look before... the day my mother died. The day Vash became our guardian. The day our lives changed forever. He had looked at me with those eyes, picked me up and cried into my shoulder.  
  
"...Why did he do it?"  
  
I can still remember everything that happened on my last seven birthdays. Every year it was always the same. Vash would get Rachel and I both great presents, and hide them from us. we would look all over for them, but we would never find them. And then on our birthday, he would wake us up really early, and give us the best presents we could ever dream of. But Rachel was never really happy. Sure she would smile and laugh and thank him, but inside, she was crying.  
  
And every night on our birthday, I would hear her talking. Talking to our mother.  
  
"Mommy... I just want it to be you, Daddy, me, Knives, and Uncle Vash again... Please Mommy... It hurts..." And then she would cry. Cry loud enough to wake the dead... And that may have been what she was trying to do.  
  
And every year, Vash and I would run over to her bed and ask her what was wrong. And every year, she'd pull out our father's black gun that she always kept under her pillow, and hold it to her temple. She'd cry even harder, and scream:  
  
"Leave me alone! One step closer and I'll shoot! I swear I will!"  
  
And then after a few minutes of pleading with her, we'd just go back to bed. She'd cry herself to sleep, and the next day no one would talk about it. It was like nothing had happened at all.  
  
Now it was only 6 days until our birthday, and I hoped that Merry's presence would comfort her. All I could do, was hope.  
  
That night, Rachel didn't come home for dinner. We figured that she was probably eating at Brian's house. Brian was really the only person besides Uncle Vash and myself that Rachel was ever able to get close to. She despised humans. And I guess... That I can't really blame her. They had beat her, almost to death. And if Vash hadn't saved her, they probably would have.  
  
They thought that she did it. They said that she was a monster...  
  
...And, to tell you the truth, in the beginning I blamed her as well. I blamed her for not trying to stop him. I was too young to realize that if she had tried to stop him, he would've killed her as well. And I hate myself for that. If I had lost her, there would be no point in living. No matter what she says, she's my little sister. And because of that, I have to protect her.  
  
And somehow, I knew that Merry was like my sister in a lot of ways. She was searching, hiding, and running, all at the same time. It saddened me to look at the layers of hope, fear, and angst in her blue-gray eyes.  
  
Dinner was unusually quiet. Even when it was just Vash and me, we always found something relatively interesting to talk about. And I thought it was supposed to be easier to find something to talk about when there were more people. Heh, guess I thought wrong.  
  
And then, I attempted to break the silence. Man, what an idiot I am.  
  
"So Merry, where are you from?" Stupid, stupid me. She looked at me like a deer in the headlights. I didn't know that a person's eyes could get so big.  
  
She looked down. "I-I'm sorry... but I can't tell you... If you'd like... I'll leave now..." She stood up and sat her fork on the table. Vash stood up with her.  
  
"No, Please. Don't go. Your past is really irrelevant. What matters is that you're here now." I desperately tried to read their expressions. Anger? Fear? Joy? For the first time in my life, I was stumped. But I could tell that something was eating both of them alive, and they couldn't tell anyone what it was.  
  
Yet again, I tried to break the uncomfortable silence. "Uh... I think I'm gonna go look for my sister." I stood and walked into the living room and through the front door.  
  
"Okay! Don't be out too late!" He always seemed to misinterpret me. Apparently, in the language of Vash, 'I'm gonna go look for my sister' meant 'I'm gonna go get real drunk and go womanizing with my friends.' Me? Have friends? Hah Hah, I don't think so. Lets just say I'm not really a people person, and I wouldn't exactly call myself a womanizer, after all, I really don't get out much.  
  
Sure, I'll have a crush or two every once in a while, but other than that. I really don't see the point, anyway. Bah, humbug.  
  
But Rachel was different. She believed in true love and all that junk. And that's what worried me. She had a crush on Brian -not that either of them would realize it- and I was afraid that she'd mistake those feelings for true love and do something she'd live to regret. And in no way possible did I trust Brian. He and I used to be friends, and then him and Rachel started hanging out together. The two of them were so close, that something had to be going on.  
  
But no, my uncle wouldn't believe me. He told me that Brian and Rachel were just best friends.  
  
Best friends my ass.  
  
Anyway, I decided to just let Merry and my Uncle be, thinking how I'd probably to come back to them making out on the couch or something. Deciding that would be mentally and emotionally crippling, I began to walk down the dusty road. People as usual stopped what they were doing and looked at me funny, and I just waved.  
  
As I came to their spot, -yes, that's their spot, as in Rachel and Brian's spot. See? Like I said before, best friends my ass. But anyway, I came to their spot, to hear them having a heated romantic discussion.  
  
...Or something like that.  
  
"I like the ones with powdered sugar better." He said to her, looking from the sky over at her. She made a face at him, and did our uncles trademark love and peace sign.  
  
"Chocolate covered all the way!" He laughed and she made another face at him.  
  
"Powdered." He lowered his face closer to hers. She smirked.  
  
"CHOCOLATE!!!" She tackled him. She looked so happy, so carefree when she was with him. Her eyes were the deepest cerulean, not the dull cloudy blue that they were usually.  
  
I watched from the bushes as not to be seen. And I was kind of hoping that they would find me. Their situation was going downhill faster than a flaming manure wagon (//A/N: O.o I don't know how fast that is, but ya know, it sounds funny ^^()//).  
  
She smiled and slid her fingers into his dark brown hair, scratching his scalp (//Erika:WTF?//).  
  
"That hurts." He grabbed her wrists and pulled them down. A relatively large horizontal scar across her wrist caught his eye, and he turned her arm around to examine it.  
  
She pulled her arm away, looking away. "D-don't look at that."  
  
I felt like going to save her, because without even seeing it, I knew what she was talking about.  
  
Her suicide scars.  
  
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So, What did ya think? I don't really like this chapter, it drags on, it does provide some story about Knives jr. and Rachel, and I guess it's important to do that, but I'm afraid everyone will be mad at me for not showing Meryl and Vash very much. It's not that long, either, but since I'm going on vacation on Sunday, I wanted to get it out before Saturday, so that I didn't have to wait until after my holiday. I'll write chappy 3 while in the car or something. So anyway, hope ya like it, and thanks for reading, please review, flame me, praise me, do whatever. BUT REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!!!!!!! Erika: -.-()  
  
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	3. FRIED CHICKEN! AKA DAMN THAT MR BROWN, D...

A nice lil author's note (that you all will hate me for)  
  
I bet you all were thinking, "Wow! That bitch FINALLY updated!!" Well, sorry about ur luck, sports fans. No real updates here, at least not yet. DON'T YOU DARE CLICK OFF OF THIS UNTIL YOU READ WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!!! -.-() Okay, here's the deal, people. I am busy. I express the word BUSY. My algebra teacher is a slave driver (DAMN YOU, MR. BROWN!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!!!) and I'm clocking about 3 hours worth of homework a night. (Including the weekends, dammit!) And it's not like I'm trying to make up excuses or anything, but from now on updates will be a little more few and far in between. And, on top of that, I'm having hellish writers block, so lets just say, that right now my life freaking sucks. IT SUCKS BIG TIME ASS. But on to the whole point of this lovely little message. Actually, it's more of a poll/feedback thingie, but what the hell, lets just call it fried chicken! Ok anyway, do you want a short chapter (like 1000 words) on Saturday and then have to wait for the next one for kami-sama knows how long, or do you want a nice long chappie (2000 words give or take a few) sometime next week, whenever I defeat my writer's block. Also you guys can help me if ya want, give me a few, ya know, ideas, or maybe even help me come up with a title. I know how I want the story to end (many people die. ^^ . carnage.) but I just don't know what to put in the frickin' middle. So those are ur choices, vote now!! Actually, if it isn't too much trouble, e- mail me at stungunmilly13@yahoo.com or I guess u can just review. Whatever you wanna do, just give me some feedback. . Now I have to go study for my algebra test. damn that Mr. Brown. damn him to hell. 


	4. The REAL chapter 3 Vash

Untitled Until Further Notice  
  
Chap 3  
  
Vash  
  
By S-chan the Great (formerly StungunMilly)  
  
Uh ok, so I'm a little late. More like a month late, but At least I put it up, right? Ok, I'm so sorry... Please don't hate me. Cuz here it is!!! Enjoy!!! Oh BTW this is Vash POV and it is very mushy and romantic (at least I think so anyways... ) and towards the end, there is a lots of action ^^ And guess what else ^^ In repayment for my lateness I'll make this chappie full of special goodness, which is just another way of saying that it'll be longer. ^^ Does that sound good? Ok then, lets get this show on the road!!! ^^ Oh btw, thanks to everyone who reviewed ^^ (HUZZAH TO YOU!!) I would reply to all reviewers, but I'm just too lazy right now. ^^ Maybe I'll do it on the last chapter... Keep your fingers crossed ^^;;  
  
Disclaimer: Yes, more poetry fun from S-chan!! I don't own Trigun, That I do not. I kinda wish I did though... Cuz Vash is really hot ^^ (er. yeah. ^^;;)  
  
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It's a kind of a gut feeling, a strange assurance from seemingly nowhere. A mixed bag of hope, frustration and fear. That was the closest I had come to an even halfway cohertant explanation of the way I was feeling now.  
  
'It's her' My mind kept repeating over and over. And it was her. The girl I left behind what was it, ten years ago? I know it sounds stupid, but time passes so slowly when you're a plant. You grow so fast, and then you live forever in suspended animation, you stop aging at twenty something. Rachel and Knives (jr.) are only nine years old, but they already look like kids in their late teens. They're hybrids, not completely plant, not completely human. That's why we had to move so often when they were younger.  
  
And to say that it's suspended animation is horrible, even though that's what it is. Most of your loved ones die, and you have to live on. Forever and ever. It's horrible, to live in this circle...  
  
...But outside of my circle of suspended animation, Meryl had changed. Don't get me wrong, she was still really pretty but. she wasn't the Meryl I knew. That sounds so stupid because, now that I think about it, I really didn't know her at all. She was just my traveling companion for a while but. she was more. It was so strange; I felt such a connection to her. And it wasn't just because she looked so much like Rem, (even though she did), She actually had many of her mannerisms, even though she didn't act like it most of the time. And. I loved the way she could put me in my place. I loved her. Every part of her.  
  
After my confrontation with Knives, I was going to go back, I really was, but I just got so preoccupied. First Knives and Jez (//A/N: More O/Cs!! Yay- ness//) got married and had Knives (jr.) and Rachel, and then. It happened, and I had to take care of Knives (jr.) and Rachel. I suppose. That maybe I was also afraid of what I'd see if I went back. I was afraid that she'd hate me, or that she wouldn't even be there anymore. And that's what scared me the most back then, and I suppose it's what scares me now. Is it really her? Or was all of this just my wishful thinking? I hope not...  
  
"Uh... Mr. Vash?" I snap back into reality, to realize that I'm staring at 'Merry' and my fork is hanging out of my mouth. "...Um... pardon me if I'm rude but... how long do you plan on staring at me like that?" It shoots me through the heart how polite she's being, and I start to think that maybe it isn't really her.  
  
"Oh um, my fault. I'm sorry it's just that..." I lose my tongue. I absolutely don't know what to say, which is really unusual for me.  
  
'Come on you dumbass, say something!' My mind boomed at me. //Erika:-.- Great. You made Vash insane.//  
  
"...It's just that what?" I look at her again, noting the almost hopeful look in her eyes.  
  
"It's just that... you look..." Suddenly I notice a spot of spaghetti sauce on her nose, which cues the funnyman in me. "...So beautiful. Your nose especially. Tomato sauce really suits you." You can almost see the steam pour out of her ears, and I can tell that she's fighting to be polite. She uses her napkin to wipe it away, and then stands up.  
  
"Excuse me. I'm going to the bathroom." She snaps at me. I really didn't mean to make her angry, I just wanted to be funny. I stand up.  
  
"I didn't mean to piss you off... I was trying to make you laugh. you don't seem very cheerful, well, you never were very chee- ...Er... What I mean to say is..." I babble on like a buffoon for about a half of a minute, not really making any sense at all. And she thinks it's funny. She's so mean.  
  
She giggles and I make a weird face at her. Her smiling face is almost more than I can take. I want, no, need to be close to her. I walk over to her, looking into her bluish eyes. I stand right in front of her, towering over her. I wrap my arms around her small, perfect figure. She blushes furiously.  
  
"W-what are you doing?" She stutters out, and I actually realize what I'm doing. She jerks away, and I just stand there, dumbstruck. She quickly begins to clear the table. "...I'll help with the dishes."  
  
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I should have figured that sleeping arrangements would be a problem. There are only two bedrooms in the house. Knives and Rachel have to share the big one, with their beds in opposite corners of the room, and I get the small room. It actually isn't too small, But it isn't the biggest room in the world, either.  
  
And both Rachel and Knives (jr.) would be pissed if Meryl slept in one of their beds, so, I really had no choice. I offered Meryl my bed.  
  
"But... where will you sleep?" She looks at me with concern.  
  
"The couch." I smile, trying to make it sound more positive than the reality of it is. I mean, there isn't anything wrong with the couch, it's just that it's well, old. And kind of uncomfortable... Too bad we can't share the bed...  
  
"Um... are you sure? I can take the couch, no problem..." I smile.  
  
"No, no, you're our guest! I'll be fine on the couch." She doesn't look convinced.  
  
"Okay well, I offered." She huffs and I laugh.  
  
We stand in silence for a minute. "Do... do you wanna take a shower?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah..."  
  
I go to the linen closet and get out a towel for her, then go into Rachel and Knives' room, and get a pair of Rachel's pajamas for her to wear. I hand everything to her.  
  
"The pajama pants might be a little big, Rachel's kinda tall." I tell her, sitting down on the couch.  
  
"Oh, they'll be fine. Thank you."  
  
"No problem." She heads for the bathroom, and I lay my head back and try to nap. I had a feeling I wasn't going to get very much sleep tonight. //Erika: O.O WTF?!//  
  
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I stared at her for the longest time. I stood over her, observing everything about her sleeping form. How her chest rose and fell rhythmically with her breathing, how her nose twitched every once in a while, I took a mental picture of everything about her. Many times I fought the urge to reach out and run my finger up her cheek. I wanted to touch her. //Erika: O.O I have been scarred for life...// I wanted to feel her skin against mine.  
  
I smiled as I brushed a piece of her now longer hair from her face, I took time to trace her jaw line, touch her soft eyelids and feel her lips. I decided that I would be forever content just like this, being able to watch her sleep, no matter how perverted it sounds.  
  
And then I got the scare of my lifetime. As I was watching her sleep, staring at her face and minding my own business, she opened her eyes and stared right back at me. We just stayed like that for a moment, eyes boring into each other's souls...  
  
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" I slam to the ground, smiling all the way. It really was like old times.  
  
I drag myself up, laughing nervously. She's sitting up in her bed, with her blanket pulled up to her chest, looking at me with the sort of look you see right before someone goes insane and kills you. Well, I guess that's what it's like, anyway.  
  
"W-why are you here?" She stammers.  
  
"Well. I live here."  
  
"That's not what I meant!!!" Uh-oh. in my quest to make her laugh, I just seem to have pissed her off even more. D'oh, I'm so smart.  
  
"Um." I stand there, looking at her, realizing all over again (for about the 10th time that day) how beautiful she was. I start to walk over to her, and without really even realizing it, I sit on the edge of her bed. She looks absolutely terrified, and I am absolutely terrified, even though I didn't show it. "...I'm sorry..." I look down.  
  
"It's ...It's alright..." She looks down too, relaxing her arms into her lap, taking the blanket with her.  
  
'Don't just stand there like an idiot! Do something! Sweep her into your arms, declare your undying love for her!' I really need to get that thing fixed. Last time I gave in to my inner voice, I ended up looking like an ass. 'Hello, you are an ass.' Grr.  
  
And then I did something that I'm sure surprised us both. I leaned over and placed my lips on hers. She flinched, and after a moment she broke apart.  
  
"Meryl..." I trailed off, getting a stunned look.  
  
"...What did you call me?" I smirked. This would surely piss her off.  
  
"I'm sorry... If you don't want anyone to call you by you name, then I guess we can't- OOMPH!" She tackles me, with much, much more power than I would have expected from such a little body. But I guess, living a life like mine, you come to expect the unexpected. //A/N: OMG I am soooo gonna get sued by nelvana for that . (The crappy dub of CCS, expect the unexpected, get it? Oh, nevermind.)//  
  
For the longest time, she just sits there, hugging me, and I can tell by the way she's breathing and the noises she's making that she's crying. I absentmindedly stroke her hair, wrapping my other arm around her waist. She lifts her head, and in one swift movement, her lips are on mine. My head spins.  
  
We sit, our lips melting into eachother. And then I feel a piece of cold, hard metal touch my soft temple.  
  
Meryl and I quickly break away from each other. I gasp, and Meryl stares, terrified.  
  
"...Knives?" I manage to stutter to him, thoughts of the problems that my brother had faced shooting into my mind.  
  
Meryl continues to stare at him. "Knives, what are you doing?"  
  
"...Please... help me..." He looks like a zombie, pale and really out of it.  
  
Rachel hurtles through the doorway. "Knives! Stop it!" She screams repeatedly, but it has no effect. Even though It's hard for me to admit it, fear was starting to rise inside of me. Was he really going to shoot me?  
  
"KNIVES!!!" She screams again, and he turns to her, taking the gun from my head and slapping her cheek with it. She catches herself before she falls, before falling into a heap and sobbing.  
  
I had quite often found Rachel crying. Many times she'd lock herself in the bathroom, and through the door, you could hear her sobbing violently. Sometimes she would stay in there all day, at midnight she would finally emerge, her face damp and as red as a tomato. And it bothered Knives (jr.) to no end, because he always felt that it was his fault.  
  
Both Rachel and Knives have had a difficult life. Sometimes, I think even more so than my brother and I. Especially Rachel.  
  
Knives (jr.) had his own problems but Rach... Rachel witnessed a murder. She saw her mother die. Then she was accused of committing it, and beat. Badly. Within an inch of her life, she was - no, I was lucky I got there in time to stop them. So at the tender age of 1 //A/N: she's half plant (or something like that ^.~) so when she was 1, she looks and acts like she's about 5.// she had experienced more pain- both mentally and physically-than most people are put through in their entire life.  
  
...Not that she'd ever say anything about it. Rachel, though she may not seem like it, is really a reserved and kept-to-herself person. Knives (jr.) Is reserved too, but he's more open with his emotions.  
  
...Which is why I'm wondering about this whole outburst of craziness thing. He isn't going to end up like his dad, is he?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Next Chapter: SONGFIC!!! Okay maybe not, but still, I hope you tune in for the next chapter... It's gonna be great ^^ It'll be Rachel's POV and it'll be very action-packed, as I hope this story'll have only like two more chapters. And I promise I'll have it to ya before two weeks passes. No month here, at least, I hope not ^^;;; So R+R=Happy S-chan HEY YOU!!! GO REVIEW! (ok, that was lame, I admit it.) 


	5. Chapter 4 Rachel

Untitled Until Further Notice  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Rachel ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Today we're hittin ya with a double whammy. It just so happens that when I got such horrible writers block on chapter 3, I wrote chapter 4. This was actually done first... -.-; So anyway, I was gonna make you wait for it, but I figured that you people are already pissed enough at me, and I didn't want to start getting bombs in the mail o anything... So here it is, Chapter 4 from Rachel's POV!! wOOt!  
  
Disclaimer(Aren't these just so fun?)  
  
If I told you I owned Trigun, That would be a lie. So lets not talk about it anymore, You're about to make me cry. (THAT WAS SO !@#$% LAME!)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When you were a child, did you ever wish that the circumstances of which you lived your life were different? Did you wish that your mom didn't die when you were only one, or that your dad wasn't a homicidal-psychopath? Did you ever try to imagine what your life would have been like if you'd been born a normal little girl? I always found it unfathomable, to think of a life as a human, getting old and dying, or really any of that. I always thought that I was just a freak, a freak who'd never find her purpose in life.  
  
I had really never understood why I was so different from all of the other kids. I grew at a much faster rate, and when I made friends at the playground, they would ask me how old I was and when I told them, they either told me I was lying or that I was a freak. I never was able to keep a friend until I met Brian. He accepted me for what I was, he knew everything about me and still liked me anyway. I was five when I met him, and he was fourteen. He was a whole nine years older than me, I often wondered if it was wrong to feel about him the way I did. I loved him, and no matter what anyone said, I was going to be with him someday. I knew he felt it too, because he had been acting strange lately when we would play. It sounds so childish, but often we would horse around and wrestle. But lately it'd been... different....  
  
And (of course) it bugged the hell out of Knives (jr.). He was probably the best brother a person could have. He did get annoying at times, but I guess that's to be expected. After all, siblings are annoying; it's like a rule of nature... But the way he was acting now. it was so horrifyingly different.  
  
I had got home moments before he did. I was sitting on the couch. I figured that Merry and my uncle were asleep, and that there was no need to wake them up.  
  
Knives (jr.) walked through the door. He didn't look normal, his eyes looked bloodshot and he was walking in a funny manner.  
  
"...Knives?" I question. He looks so out of it. He looks at me, but doesn't say anything as he sits down on the couch next to me. "...What's wrong, bro?" He holds his face in his hands.  
  
"I don't feel so well..." He sure sounded sick, sicker than hell. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then he began to shudder. He shuddered violently for about five seconds, and stood back up. He looked like he was in some sort of trance. He reached for his gun.  
  
"W-what the hell are you doing?!" I stand up with him. Things weren't the same as when we were younger. He now had a good seven inches over me. It's not so easy to be intimidating towards your brother when he is so much taller than you, and when he looks so dejected. He says nothing to me, but walks in the direction of uncle Vash's room. I follow. I'm not leaving him alone until he gives me a straight answer. But as I followed him, fear began to well up inside of me.  
  
...Something was so familiar about this situation, about this energy I was sensing. It was terrifyingly familiar, even though for the life of me I couldn't place it in my memory.  
  
"I'm not joking, Knives. Tell me what's up. Now." I step in front of him, but he continues walking, trying to walk through me. I end up falling out of his way, and he continues to walk, his zombie-like movements weren't funny anymore.  
  
...But in my mind, a part of me knew that something was wrong, that he wasn't just trying to bug me. This was a little different than the 'Scream-mask-outside-my-bedroom-window-on-Halloween' gag.  
  
He made his way into Vash's room. I was shocked at the sight I saw. On uncle's bed, Merry and he looked well... a little bit busy.  
  
...GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!!! That's not the kind of busy I meant, even though I guess that it's pretty close to it. They're engaged in a passionate kiss, the kind that you see in the sappy romantic movies. Their arms are wrapped around each other, and they look all-out happy.  
  
They don't realize my brother; still walking like a zombie, go over to them. He raised his gun, and my uncle shivered as the cold metal made contact with his temple.  
  
They abruptly break their kiss. Merry gapes in shock, and Vash gasps. "...Knives?" He sputters.  
  
"Knives, what are you doing?" Merry asks, wide-eyed with shock. He looks at her.  
  
"...Please... help me..." He still holds the gun to Vash's head.  
  
I run into the room. "Knives! Stop it!" I yell over and over at him. He doesn't stop though. "KNIVES!!!" I scream. He turns to me, momentarily taking the gun from vash's head, and slams me in the face with the butt of it. I halfway crash to the ground, catching myself.  
  
...And suddenly, horrible memories from my childhood flooded my mind.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
I had been playing in the front yard with my brother. We were racing around a dinky makeshift track that my daddy had made for us. I tripped and scraped my knee. It was bleeding pretty badly, and it hurt like hell.  
  
"Whoa, maybe you should go inside and have mum bandage your knee, Rach." He helped me up, and I brushed him off and limped into the house myself.  
  
I closed the heavy front door behind me. I heard sobbing from the kitchen, so I decided to listen.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" I heard the muffled cries of my mother, accompanied by the heavy, uneasy breathing of my father. I felt a strange energy, but I couldn't tell what it was.  
  
"Please... forgive me..." He gasped, and I decided that it was time to see what they were up to. I limped in through the kitchen door.  
  
I froze with shock at the scene before my eyes. My mother was backed up against the counter, and my father was standing a few feet away, pointing his black gun at her stomach. His eyes were glowing red, not at all like the friendly daddy eyes that he usually had.  
  
I clenched my eyes shut as the gun fired. BANG... BANG... BANG... BANG... BANG.... BANG.... Time slowed down as I heard the first two shots, opening my eyes in shock as the last four were fired. I saw my mother being tossed around as the bullets pierced the skin on her stomach.  
  
Gunpowder and blood. The worst combination of smells possible. I whimpered as they flooded my nostrils, forcing the shock of reality upon me. Daddy turned to me, a scary look on his face. He stepped towards me. I wanted to run away, to scream, to do anything, but my body wouldn't allow me. I just stood there, staring at him wide-eyed.  
  
"D-daddy..." I sputtered at him. He looked like he was fighting within himself.  
  
"You know that daddy'd never do anything to hurt you, right?" He towered over me, as I looked up at him. He was holding the gun. I hoped and prayed to the Almighty God that this was all a dream. A horrible, unbelievably realistic dream.  
  
I nodded mutely, as tears began to flood my eyes. "Daddy... Why did you hurt mommy?" He squatted in front of me, looking like he was about to cry himself.  
  
He said nothing.  
  
"...Why?" I asked again, this time a little louder.  
  
He said nothing.  
  
"I wanna know why, dammit!" I screamed at him. His eyes turned red.  
  
He growled at me. "Shut up you little brat!" He hit me with the butt of his gun. It came out of his hand and landed next to me. He disappeared out of the window and out of our lives forever.  
  
My cheek was bleeding profusely, and I stood up. I grabbed the gun, and ran over to my mother, collapsing on top of her. I cried my eyes out into her shoulder, not caring that I was getting drenched in crimson. I wanted to scream for help, but my voice was too weak. I wanted to run out and get my brother, but I couldn't even stand up. I just laid there, crying on my mother.  
  
It hadn't occurred to me that someone would have heard the gunshots and called the sheriff. A bunch of men ran into the room, all holding guns.  
  
"Hey, it's that little freak-kid!" One of them yelled. I continued to cry, not even looking at them.  
  
"That little monster...she killed Jezebella!" I felt something grab me harshly by the shoulder and pull me off of her. I received a sharp kick to my side, knocking the breath out of me.  
  
"You're gonna pay for what you did, you little freak!" All of these men. they had grown up with my mother, her childhood friends. They never liked my father or my brother and I.  
  
They continued to kick me, each blow sending me deeper into a spiral of pain. After a while, the pain started to feel good... My whole body started to go numb. That's when I knew I was going to die.  
  
It's strange, knowing that you're going to die. I mean, we all know that we're going to die eventually, but the feeling of knowing your life is going to end. It's so horrible. My brain started to stop sending messages, and I was being kicked around like a soccer ball. Suddenly I heard a voice.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!?" I could tell it was my uncle Vash; I didn't even have to open my eyes to tell that. I heard grunts and loud noises, and heavy footsteps coming towards me. "Rachel... Rachel... Are you allright?" The voice echoed in my head, and I began to lose consciousness. The last thing I remembered was hearing Knives (jr.)'s deafening cry.  
  
Everything went black.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
Tears streamed wildly down my face, stinging the gash in my cheek. I jumped up and clenched myself to Knives (jr.)'s back.  
  
"Knives! Snap outta it!" I scream at the top of my lungs, but he doesn't stop. He continues to hold the gun to uncle Vash's head.  
  
Uncle Vash just sat there, his arms still wrapped protectively around Merry. Knives (jr.) started to tremble, and he threw me off of his back. I slid across the wooden floor, skidding to a stop and jumping up.  
  
"Knives! Why are you doing this?!" I screamed again. He ignored me, still trembling. I couldn't watch it. I couldn't watch my brother kill my uncle. I had to do something.  
  
...But what?  
  
Suddenly an idea came to me. I reached down at my belt, my own hands starting to shake nervously. Unsheathing my own gun, I point it at him. I tried to aim for a spot that wouldn't do permanent damage, but my hands were so shaky. I fired and immediately closed my eyes. I heard his gun go off and Merry's high-pitched scream. I fell to the ground, hugging my knees and sobbing.  
  
He actually shot him. He shot uncle Vash. I didn't want to open my eyes. I decided that I'd just sit there with my eyes closed forever if I had to.  
  
Again I smell gunpowder and blood. It hurt my nostrils so bad, and I cried even harder. I sat there for what seemed like forever, hearing heavy footsteps all around me.  
  
"...Rachel..." It's. uncle Vash!!  
  
I look up at him. "...Didn't you get shot?" He chuckled, obviously trying to lighten the situation.  
  
"You say it like it's a bad thing that I didn't." I try to smile, but the emotional overload simply won't allow it.  
  
"...Where's Knives?" I looked around. Maybe I hit him in the wrong place. maybe I killed him... If I did... then I'd have no right to live...  
  
"Well, turns out you're a better shot than we all thought." He said halfway good-naturedly. My jaw almost dropped. Does that mean that I really did shoot him in the wrong place?  
  
"W-what are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, when you shot, it hit his gun, forcing it down, and making it go off. It shot him in the foot." I almost laughed. That had to be the stupidest thing I'd ever heard in my life.  
  
Still, I thanked my lucky stars that he wasn't hurt. Not too badly, anyway.  
  
He chuckeled again. "I carried him to his room and Meryl's bandaging his foot." Meryl? Didn't he mean Merry? Wasn't Meryl that girl he was always rambling about in his sleep, 'Oh Meryl, oh Meryl, I'm so sorry, please don't leave me'?  
  
"...Meryl?" I cocked my head at him. He sighed.  
  
"I'll explain everything later." Damn right you will! I have absolutely NO clue whats going on!  
  
"...Uncle Vash...?" I ask. He smiles slightly.  
  
"Yeah? What is it?"  
  
"...Why did he do all of this?" His smile fades. He looks down at his hands, and then back up at me.  
  
"...I don't know, Rachel... I really don't know..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Admit it, you hate me. You want me dead. What's new? Ok, so I tried to kill Vash off... What's wrong with that? Don't worry, it'll happen a few more times in the story. I actually don't like this whole action-y thing. In my opinion it's too rushed but, who really gives a damn lets get to the important part. What did you think? You liked it, right? Well, I could just sit here all day and chew your ear off (MIKE TYSON AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH RUN!!!) but I won't. Go review, and tell me who you think the next chapter's POV should be. Allrighty, this is S-chan, signing off, GOODNIGHT AMERICA MEEE LURRRRRRRVE YOOOOOOU!!! 


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